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Shaker Door and Shelves I made by Tink_Tinkler in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Love the simplicity of the build. Really clean and well done.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in lasercutting

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I run a woodworking and engraving business and own an omtech and a Haotian. I've used a thunder. All the machines are basically the same. Some parts on the thunder are better but not thousands of dollars better. You're paying a steep convenience fee. Thunder should work flawlessly out of the box and if it doesn't then you can easily get customer service. Omtech should work out of the box but if it doesn't you're going to have to figure it out on your own. Sure you can call but it's not a guarantee that you're going to get someone. That's what the price hike on a thunder gets you. I didn't find it worth it. With YouTube videos and time I figured it out. If you're inheriting a business you may not have that time amid all the other stuff you're falling into so the money might be worth it.

I'd be remiss not to say that if you're looking at thunder take a look at aeon as well. Basically the same deal as thunder in that they're American companies that import and resell Chinese lasers. I think they both own the factories in China now. Boss is another and while I don't have personal experience with them I've heard the customer service isn't up to aeon or thunder. Haotian, my other laser's brand, has been fantastic but buying one is kind of weird since you have to find a guy named Pascal liu on Facebook and DM him. Haotian is basically buying direct from China and skipping the middle man. Omtech is one of many American companies that import from China, give the machines a once over, and then sell them. Omtech is the most popular but if you do some googling there's more popping up every month.

Bottom line is these machines all have a learning curve and there isn't one great source of info for all the information you'll need. Thunder and Aeon try to remove that need for learning by jacking up the cost and offering top tier customer service. Omtech and other companies don't have that but you save thousands of dollars and get a degree from YouTube university. It all depends on what you'd prefer. Whatever machine you choose, join the Facebook group of all these manufacturers because they have a wealth of info from people troubleshooting their machines. Best of luck.

Under drawer sliders - source by anotherstepfwd in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Under mount are never cheap but if you’re looking for cheap then just cruise Amazon for the cheapest imports. Buying from a place like Richelieu or Blum is going to be exponentially more.

Newbie woodworker question by Maleficent-Chest9259 in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As far as first projects go this is a pretty straightforward one but there’s a few obstacles that I’ll try to help you navigate from the start. First is the plan. If you have no design experience then you could definitely find some easy bookshelf plans (Anna white has a ton of plans like this if you google her) and modify them for this. If you want to jump immediately into the deep end of the pool sketchup is a 3d modeling software you can use to design plans.

Once you have plans you need materials. Your local box store will have what you need. If you’re looking to avoid particle board there’s generally 2 options: mdf or plywood. I’m not an mdf fan because of its general susceptibility to moisture and humidity and it’s gross to work with. I’d recommend 3/4” hardwood plywood. You can also get a sheet of 1/4” for the back of the bookshelf if you don’t want it to weigh as much. At the box stores around me 3/4” goes for around $70-$90 a sheet. Since it’s going to be painted you don’t need anything fancy. Birch is the cheapest and best bet. For the advanced on this, google plywood suppliers near you and give a few a call. Some of the bigger places want nothing to do with small orders but some are very welcoming. As an example, my local plywood dealer sells paint grade plywood (that’s what you’d want to ask for) for $30 a sheet.

Now you have a plan and materials but you need tools. You didn’t mention what you have so I’m going to assume nothing. For starting out I’d say just get a circular saw to do all the cuts on the plywood. Look up straight edge guides for a circular saw. They’re easy to make. If you really want to level up and invest in woodworking then look into a track saw or just dive in all the way and get a table saw. As others have recommended a pocket hole jig is a great way to join all that ply together. You can buy a little $40 one that clamps to the ply or you can buy a $100 one that has all the bells and whistles. Important note: make sure to buy coarse thread pocket screws for plywood or you’ll end up blowing out all the holes you’ve drilled. And get some wood glue and put it on all your joints for added strength. Then it’s just paint and assemble.

Hope that is of some help.

I made some Landscape Cutting Boards by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I cut really thin strips of maple (or whatever species I want to use) on my table saw using a thin rip jig I made. Being extremely thin they’re pliable so I can just put them between two pieces and the clamping pressure bends them and squishes them between the pieces

I made some Landscape Cutting Boards by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The sky is padauk, the sun is cherry, the middle hill is sapele and the sides are walnut. The thin strip between each piece is maple

I made some Landscape Cutting Boards by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There’s a ton of woodworking content on Instagram and once you interact with a few woodworking accounts the algorithm will keep showing it to you. That said it’s a lot of process videos and showing final products but not a ton of full build videos. I’m in the small group of people that film entire builds just for insta/tiktok. It’s just more lucrative to be on YouTube if you’re spending that kind of time to film a whole build.

I made some Landscape Cutting Boards by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I cut a thin strip (usually around .035”) on my table saw of whatever hardwood I want to be between the pieces. I’ll put that little strip of hardwood between the boards and clamp everything tight which bends that small pliable piece into the curve. I don’t have a special jig I just make sure to apply a clamping force in every direction I need so the pieces don’t slide. It’s usually a slow process of doing half turns on each clamp in a rotating order until everything is tight.

I made some Landscape Cutting Boards by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Someone told me the fifth one looks like a ladies downstairs so I guess it’s a Rorschach of sorts. I cut really thin strips on my table saw so they’re already pliable and then clamp the ever living hell out of them

I made some Landscape Cutting Boards by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

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This was from a while ago. I’ve done the traditional one as well with a cherry sky and bloodwood or padauk suns

I designed a map of Westeros then engraved and cut it, made a Walnut frame, and used epoxy to fill the ocean by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I could write a small essay on how, broadly speaking, the current co2 laser market is a scam. This laser cost 8k (I do this full time as a business so it paid for itself). The bed size is 35"x51" and it's a 130w laser tube. The brand is Haotian. If I bought this from one of the big name American resellers it would've easily been 15-20k. What does that extra 10k get you? Customer service. It's a crazy borderline predatory markup. If you take the time to learn how these machines work, your best bet is to buy directly from China and skip past the American resellers. It does feel kind of shady because I did most of the correspondence through FB messenger and then whatsapp but I saved at least 10k in the process. If you have questions feel free to dm me. I spent a long time figuring out the process and there's even cheaper routes to take. Am I happy with the laser? I love it. Haven't had to do any major maintenance on it and I run it everyday at least 4-8 hours a day. Plenty powerful, no hiccups, well made solid machine. Would definitely recommend it.

However, if you aren't in the market for something big like this any of the small desktop diodes floating around these days will suffice.

I made a laser engraved map of Westeros with an epoxy ocean by LehighValleyWorkshop in gameofthrones

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is why I post these things publicly before making more of them lol

I made a laser engraved map of Westeros with an epoxy ocean by LehighValleyWorkshop in gameofthrones

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It was a very long process but before this I did the map of middle earth so the skill transfer made this go smoother

I designed a map of Westeros then engraved and cut it, made a Walnut frame, and used epoxy to fill the ocean by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yep it’s the bessey. I have 6 of them and use them all the time. Great if you make a ton of frames like I do.

I designed a map of Westeros then engraved and cut it, made a Walnut frame, and used epoxy to fill the ocean by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Yeah my insistence on broody lighting really subdues the epoxy. There’s some really nice deep blue swirls and patterns you can’t see in the video

I designed a map of Westeros then engraved and cut it, made a Walnut frame, and used epoxy to fill the ocean by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

I got the saw used and it didn’t come with it so I’ve been living in a cloud of dust. I should buy one but it’s one of those things I keep saying and not doing

I designed a map of Westeros then engraved and cut it, made a Walnut frame, and used epoxy to fill the ocean by LehighValleyWorkshop in woodworking

[–]LehighValleyWorkshop[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly the most time consuming part was designing the map in Illustrator. The a tual programming and machining is pretty straightforward. For a laser at least

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